Alan Dunlop quits Prospect magazine after public fallout

Alan Dunlop has left the editorial board of Prospect magazine following a public fallout over the judging of this year’s Carbuncle Awards

The co-founder of practice Gordon Murray + Alan Dunlop Architects was enraged after the firm’s Glasgow Harbour scheme was shortlisted in the worst planning decision category, claiming the decision process had been ‘unfair and biased’.

Dunlop was particularly furious about the judges’ original justification for the nomination, which he believed implied his practice ‘took [developers’] money and didn't give a damn [about the design].’

In the original summation, the jury described the project as ‘one of the best examples of atrocious late 20th-century developer-led nonsense’ and went on to say: ‘Clyde Port got exactly what they wanted, ably assisted by numerous architects who were happy to take the dosh.’

It is understood this phrase has now been removed from the citation on the Architecture Scotland website after Dunlop threatened legal action for defamation.

However, Prospect magazine editor Gordon Young insisted the nomination would not be dropped and that the judging had been fair. Quoted online, he said: ‘It is absolutely ridiculous to assert our jury was anything but impartial.

‘I do not think the name Murray and Dunlop even came up in conversation. The panel were simply expressing views which are widely held by the community as a whole.’

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